Verse By Verse Devotional by Pastor Jack on 2 Corinthians #111

Not Losing Heart (4:16)

4:16 "THEREFORE WE DO NOT LOSE HEART, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day."

In the face of being "afflicted in every way, ...perplexed, ...persecuted, ...struck down ...always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus", and "constantly delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake" (v.8-11) what is it that keeps believers afloat? What is it that keeps us from losing heart? There is a Power inside of us that is greater than the power that pulls us down.

Do you feel like you are barely hanging on in the face of life’s pains and burdens? Well, there is One hanging onto you, and His power to hang on is greater than any power that would snatch you away:

"I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand." (John 10:28-29)

Did you hear that? NO ONE IS ABLE TO SNATCH AWAY those who are in the hands of God. This divine power at work within us is the reason "we do not lose heart."

If God was not at work within you, you would have been washed away long ago by the riptide of life’s difficulties. The very reason you are hanging on at all (even if at times it feels like barely) is because of God’s tenacious grasp.

Dear Father, I praise You for Your great faithfulness. You never leave me or forsake me. I move forward by the power of Your hand. You deserve all the glory for the perseverance of my faith. Keep me tightly in Your strong grip. May it be evident to all that the One who is within me is greater than all of the burdens and stresses and pressures of this life.